Legendary actress, Fay Wray, was born Vina Fay Wray on Sep 15, 1907 in Cardston, Canada. Wray died at the age of 96 on Aug 8, 2004 in New York City, NY and was laid to rest in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.

Early Life and Career

Vina Fay Wray was born on September 15th, 1907 in
Cardston, Alberta, Canada. She was one of six children born to Mormon parents
Elvina and Joseph Wray. Her formative years were living on a ranch in Canada before moving to the United
States while a small child. Her family packed and moved to the Salt Lake City Utah
in 1942 before relocated to the smaller city of Lark Utah. They eventually
settled in Hollywood where Wray would spend her high school years.

Wray's acting career began while she was still in High
School, after being cast in an independent short film titled Gasoline Love. Although the film wasn't
particularly successful, Wray found the work enjoyable and began doing extra
work when not in school. She appeared in her first leading role in the 1925
short film The Coat Patrol, while
also playing small roles at Hal Roach Studios. In 1926 she was chosen as one of the Western Association of
Motion Picture Advertisers "WAMPAS Baby Stars," a group a of bourgeoning actresses
on their way to certain stardom. That year she shared the title with fellow
actresses Mary Astor and Janet Gaynor.

Rising Film Career

After completing her contract at Universal studios in 1927, Wray
signed on with Paramount Pictures. She was quickly noticed by notorious
director, Erich von Stroheim, who cast her as the female lead in his romantic
drama The Wedding March. Although the
film was praised for it's high production value and Wray was noted for her
performance, The Wedding March was
nonetheless a financial failure. She remained at Paramount for the next few
years, continuing to play leading roles in films like Thunderbolt, The Four Feathers and The Texans. During her time at Paramount she also made the success
leap from silent to talkies, surviving a period many of Wray's peers would
fail.

After leaving Paramount in the early 1930s, Wray went on
work with varying studios on Hollywood. During this time she was cast in series
of horror films, including Doctor X, The
Vampire Bat, and Mystery of the Wax
Museum. Her popularity grew when she signed on with RKO pictures, producing
some of her most known work. In 1932 she worked starred opposite Joel McCrea in
the silver screen adaption of the The
Most Dangerous Game. While she filmed The
Most Dangerous Game in the day, she returned to those same jungle sets at
night to film another thriller, King
Kong.

King Kong and Decline

Although Wray was not the first choice to play Ann Darrow in
1933's King King (it was Jean Harlowthat director Merian C. Cooper wanted),
it has nonetheless became her most memorable role. Thanks to Wray's natural sex
appeal, vulnerability and powerful scream, the image (and sounds) of King Kong
carrying Ann Darrow up the Empire State Building has since become on of the
memorable scenes in Hollywood history: a true icon of the silver screen. The
film was wildly successful, making over 2.8 million at the box office - a hefty
sum for the time and saved the fledging RKO studios from bankruptcy. Despite
it's popularity with the film going public, it failed to receive a single Oscar
nomination.

Immediately following King
Kong, Wray maintained a busy schedule, appearing in 11 films in 1934. She
also was still assigned so some choice roles in films like Once to Every Women, Viva Villa and Alias Bulldog Drummond. However, by the late-1930s, her career
began a steady decline and by the 1940s it was dead in the water. After
appearing in the subpar 1942 Lew Landers film Not a Ladies Man, Wray would disappear from the silver screen for
over a decade.

Later Career and Life

Due to some financial troubles Wray reentered the acting
world in 1953, taking a supporting role in the adventure flick Treasure of the Golden Condor. That year
she also began to appear on the growing medium of television when she was cast
as the matriarch Catherine Morrison in the early sitcom The Pride of the Family. Although she continued to act in subpar
films throughout the 1950s, she found herself guest starring on a myriad of
successful television shows such as Kraft
Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock, and The David
Niven Show. She remained a stable on TV into the next decade series like The Real McCoys, General Electric Theater, and
Perry Mason. However, by 1965 she
once again retired from the screen, both big and small. She would return to the
one last time in 1980 for the made for TV film Gideon's Trumpet.

Later in life Wray wrote an autobiography, On the Other Hand and would go on to
make public appearance in her later years. In 1991 Faye was crowned Queen of
the Beaux Arts Ball presiding with King Herbert Huncke and then was the guest
of honor at the 60th anniversary of the Empire State Building. In
1998 she was a special guest at the Academy Award and made her final public
appearance in 2004 an after-party at the Sardi's restaurant in New York City,
following the premiere of the documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the
Legends Who Were There.

Faye Wray died on August 8th, 2004 in New York
City. She was 96 years old.

Announcement: and Robert Riskin, The Blogathon

By Annmarie Gatti on Jan 21, 2019 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

and Robert Riskin, The Blogathon
February 26, 2019 marks the release of a must-read dual Hollywood biography and we are honoring it with a special blogathon. Commemorating the lives and careers of one of classic Hollywood’s greatest stars and one of its most memorable screenwriters,?F... Read full article

A Quick Birthday Tribute To One Of Hollywood’s Greatest – And First – “Scream Queens” – (1907-2004)

By Michael on Sep 15, 2013 From Durnmoose Movie Musings

was born on September 17, 1907, marking today as the 106th anniversary of her birth. She is, of course, best known as the girl who screamed her way into the heart of a giant ape. Of course, King Kong was far from Ms. Wray’s only role, nor was it even her first or only horror/thriller... Read full article

A Quick Birthday Tribute To One Of Hollywood’s Greatest – And First – “Scream Queens” – (1907-2004)

By Michael on Sep 15, 2013 From Durnmoose Movie Musings

was born on September 17, 1907, marking today as the 106th anniversary of her birth. She is, of course, best known as the girl who screamed her way into the heart of a giant ape. Of course, King Kong was far from Ms. Wray’s only role, nor was it even her first or only horror/thriller... Read full article

Mini Tribute Scream Queen:

By Annmarie Gatti on Sep 15, 2012 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Born September 15, 1907, !
‘Scream Queen’ is (of course) best remembered as King Kong‘s Leading Lady
…..
Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
Share this:ShareFacebookDiggRedditStumbleUponEmailPrint... Read full article

By Art on Sep 15, 2011 From Classic Cinema Gold

was a Canadian-American actress most remembered for playing the lead in “King Kong” (1933). Through an acting career that spanned 57 years, Wray attained international stardom as an actress in horror film roles, leading to many considering her as the first “scream queen... Read full article

6349 Hollywood Blvd.

On August 10, 2004, two days after her death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City (scene of the climax from her most popular film, "King Kong") were dimmed for 15 minutes in her memory.